Symplicity Communications

I’ll admit it. I’m slightly obsessed with your ongoing technology expenses. It’s not that you’re spending too much on the game-changing, new and exciting technology, because that spend is strategic and wise!?It’s the ongoing telecommunications and licensing spend, with their promotions, bundles, taxes, and fees that keep me up at night. There’s something inside of me that cannot stand to watch a company overspend on foundational technology simply because the invoicing has gotten too complex to understand. Is there anything worse than budgeting for next year when you cannot fully understand if you’re paying the right amount per month right now????

Here’s how the story typically goes:?As you prepare for year-end financial reporting and budgeting for 2023, especially when facing a possible recession (and general economic uncertainty), it’s likely that you’ll be asked to reduce expenses. This is when you take a look back at your telecommunications expenses throughout the year and then gasp, maybe call out some choice words, and make a resolution to really dig into these expenses to see where, and what, you can actually cut.?

And then you open up a few invoices and scan the line items and you see things like:

• Extended service area unlimited charges
• Business line charges
• Federal access charges and taxes
• Non-published charges??
• Fiber/Internet charges
• General access and usage fees
• Promotional credits and discounts?
• Pre-pay charges versus owed
• State access charge and taxes

Then you realize this is just ONE location’s telecommunications invoice and you have 15 locations. What a nightmare!

Here’s how we help: If this work doesn’t sound fun to you, please send it my way. There is nothing we love more than the challenge of tackling multi-location telecommunications and licensing invoices!?There are four areas we’ll dive into:?

1. Invoices - Invoices are made confusing on purpose!?Multiple locations and often different service providers, invoices are where we like to start because it’s hard for a business to see if they’re spending the right amount or getting the negotiated price or discounts.?We’ll work directly with your technology providers to make sure you’re being charged the correct amount for the right service.
2. Contracts - as companies grow, contracts often get misplaced or added to (hello change orders!) and expiration deadlines,?auto renews, and usage reconciliations are missed. If you don’t speak legalese, and don’t want to, you’re not alone. This is another area where we excel at finding and fixing loopholes, saving you money and time.
3. Inventory-?identifying circuits, POTs, DID's, devices and licenses at every location is a difficult task for clients. Typically, even if a company has an asset management platform, it's impossible to have it continually updated with all the change colors and new/disconnected services that take place throughout an organization. Technology sprawl is real and can cause serious overbudget issues!
4. Budget - setting and keeping a budget inline when invoices, contracts, and inventory are not proactively managed is impossible. Don’t stress if you find yourself buried in mountains of invoices and spreadsheets. Just point us in the right direction and we’ll start digging!

There are those of us that are big-picture and have to stay focused on big, strategic projects.?And then there are detailed people like me and the team at Symplicity. We can’t stand it when you overpay.?Think of us like a C.S.I. team… we’re your forensic specialists.?We see the details that no one else sees, connect the dots, map out a plan, and manage ongoing expenses, reducing technology costs by as much as X% for our clients!?

If you need help closing out 2022 and preparing for 2023, please let me look at your expenses! Both of us will sleep better at night once I do.?

With wishes for rest, clear vision, expense management nirvana and continued success,

?

Catherine

?

Catherine Behrenbrinker

CEO & President

[email protected] | 616.588.8501

Symplicity Spotlight

Earlier this month, five members of our Symplicity Communications team traveled to Nashville, Tennessee to attend Intelisys/ScanSource Channel Connect Conference!?

?Channel Connect is an opportunity for the Symplicity Team to regroup with Intelisys employees and service providers to discuss market trends, emerging technologies and strengthen relationship with individuals that help us grow!?

This Nashville Channel Connect was special because it was our first gathering since the pandemic, and it was terrific to meet people in person again and see the changes in the industry.

Thank you to Intelisys for presenting us with a great opportunity to gain knowledge, strengthen relationships, and dive deep and learn from others.

Our team is back and ready to put our experience at Channel Connect to use to delight our customers!

Employee Spotlight?

We recently added two new members to our team at Symplicity Communications!?

Lorraine Osborne joined us at the beginning of August as a Technology Advisor.

Doug Seites joined us at the end of August as a Sales/Marketing Administrator.

"What we love about Lo and Doug is that they are the 'Ideal Team Players', very Hungry, Humble and Smart!" - Catherine?

We are thrilled to have these talented individuals here at Symplicity Communications and are excited for you to meet them!

Welcome Lorraine and Doug!

Technology Management as a Service (TMaaS)

A good TMaaS solution will help you in three key areas: saving money, saving time, and precision inventory management. It does this through consolidation, reduction, and elimination to align with company initiatives. When a company works with Symplicity through our TMaaS program, the business typically will experience 20-30% cost savings when the initial goals are met. This program does not end, but continually evolves by identifying new projects and new ways to optimize and automate technologies.

A Business Guide to Understanding Contact Centers as a Service (CCaaS)

After working hard to gain a new customer, the emphasis quickly shifts to retaining that customer. From fulfilling the order or the service to helping them work through implementation and use, the customer is now on a journey with your company. How well that journey goes will have the greatest impact on whether or not your relationship with them grows or withers... (Read More)

Halloween at Symplicity

We are getting into the Spooky Spirit here at Symplicity Communications, and we wanted to share with you some of our Halloween favorites. Tell us yours when you Contact Us to discuss your technology needs!?